elections. unfortunately, he did. when doors opened at some d.c. polling places, voting got off to a rough start. >> very unorganized and -- >> or not at all. >> it was not until 7:15 that they told us the machines were down and that we would have to go to an alternate location. >> reporter: he left the recreation center in northeast, one of two locations that opened late. he came back but one worker for mayor fenty's campaign worried others may not. >> it's going to be tight. if you come down to 25, who knows. >> reporter: the board of elections blamed new equipment and at more than a dozen likes, problems verifying serial numbers on cameras because of bad instruction. voters put paper ballots in a box and told they would be scammed later and that is what happened to vincent gray. >> there is no excuse for this.

>> when the machine is up and running, we feed them through the scanner and have done that with every ballot in the precinct. >> reporter: waits of up to an hour or more persisted with same-day voter registration, which is new this year. >> they frustrated. myself, i would be frustrated. i don't have the time to come back again. >> reporter: each precinct had one machine for special ballots. >> we told people all along, avoid the lines and register early. this proved difficult, no bell to call election workers to get in. >> i'm able to use my arms. if i didn't have any arms, i wouldn't be able to push the button or open the door. >> reporter: by midday, most polls were back to normal. for some, it was too late. >> reporter: about 22,000 people cast their ballots with early elect providing some relief from the long lines and despite the hotly-contested mayoral race, officials say

turn outis expected to be lower than they had planned. and that is the latest here. back to you. >> thank you. and there were hiccups today. john henrehan continues our live team coverage from the newsroom with that. >> reporter: after seeing sherry's report, it's not as bad. the people hired to run polling places, some are new also and we did not fine the widespread breakdown but there were issues. there were tons of volunteers outside in clinton, immediate. 18 machines were supposed to be available for superior courts at this busy precinct but as polls opened in the morning, a third of the machines were not operational. once a technician arrived, four of the 6 downed machines were put into service within an hour and the other two machines were in service in three hours and because there were so many

voting booths to start, officials believe no one was turned away and by early afternoon, all 18 machines were operational in clinton. this mortgage banker had a different voting problem at woodmore elementary school in the morning. >> and i noticed it did not take my tate's attorney is vote ballot or what i cast as a vote and so i went back and tried to fix that myself and call for help. the election people came over and the short story, they issued me another card. i went to a different machine and the same thing happened to me twice. >> reporter: there was voter irritation with sample ballots characterizing them as official and the state and democratic parties are neutral and yet the michael jackson campaign used the word on its sample ballot.

>> they ought not to be swayed by misleading literature. >> what is the problem? it employs an official endorsement that is not accurate. >> reporter: and a spokesman for the michael jackson campaign told us there is nothing illegal about using the word official in their campaign's sample ballot. on the issue of the summary screen not showing the contest, the ballot is long and that the man's vote was was counted and didn't scroll down far enough on the screen. some confusion over official ballot and there aren't any official ones. >> and are you deathing -- getting an idea of the voter turnout? college of 3:00 p.m., 9% of voters in prince georges county turned out. not huge. >> i imagine that is lower than expected? >> and i don't know enough to

answer that question. it's a primary. >> yes. >> and there were big contests. >> too bad to see the disappointments and problems and in d.c. and prince georges county. appreciate it. in the district, all ice are on the race for mayor. polls leading up to the primary day put gray ahead at times by double digits. we'll check in with his camp in just a minute. first, let's go to fenty headquarters and karen gray houston is live there with the latest. >> reporter: it's an all-hands- on-deck situation here at the campaign headquarters. volunteers and hard-core supporters out at the polling precincts. there are a few folks getting ready for a big crowd this evening for what they say will be a victory party tonight. it started here at the headquarters early this morning. the mayor getting his people all pumped up with a final campaign rally. adrian fenty then went out

later with his family and cast his vote about 8:30 at the sharp school in his homebase ward 4 on 13th street northwest and he has been dropping in on polling places all day and said to be anywhere from 7 to 17 points behind. and fenty is not giving up. he's personally trying to convince voters to keep an open mind and we caught up with him at his old elementary school, bancroft, near 17th and newton. >> i'm energized. this energizes me, i have all loved election day and trying to hit as many places as possible. i wish could get into all the precincts, it's not possible. >> walked over and asked if i was going to vote for him and i said no. he kept talking to him. >> why aren't you voting for him? >> i just think he's made a lot of decisions that report good for a majority of the people in d.c. >> everything is easier to get done and i think he's making a difference in the schools, too.

by every quantifiable measure, mayor fenty is making a positive difference. >> most of the folks we talked to were voting for vincent gray, clearly not a specific poll. we'll have to wait until later tonight to find out what is really going. my colleague wisdom martin is on the campaign trail with the threat runner, vince gray. how's that going, wisdom? >> reporter: it's been a very busy day for the council chair. counselor gray was out all day long campaigning throughout the city and trying to continue to get the message across and he said, i spoke with him an hour and a half ago and he said he feels good about what his campaign is able to do see far and is encouraged about his chances tonight. councilman gray's day got started at 7:00 and this morning when he voted at his precinct and right out of the gate, they noticed there were some problems with the election process and in fact, he ran into the problems because his ballot would not scan. they noticed there were other

problems in the process including machines not working and polling locations not opening on time. that means that some people who were out and about early this morning did not get a chance to vote. so, now, the gray campaign is asking the board of elections and ethics to extend the hours until 10:00 p.m. >> i think the important principle here are people are not disenfranchised and for people who may have left and didn't have the opportunity to come back, we're now making sure we fight for their right to be able to vote. i did speak with a spokesperson from the board of elections and they did get a letter from the gray campaign asking them to extend hours. they're look at it and reviewing it and they waiting for people not to wait for that to be done. it's not been extended and they telling voters to go to the polls and be done by 8:00. >> you have had a chance to talk to voters out there and get a feel?

we heard from karen gray houston earlier. what is the sense? what is the feel in the city? >> reporter: it debend on which side of the fence you're on, really. we have been to a couple of locations and you will see gray supporters and fenty supporters and it's pretty clear that, if you're with the fenty campaign, you're wearing the fenty t- shirts and have the stickers. on the other side, you have the gray campaign doing the same thing and you're getting a mixed crowd at all of the locations. it's still pretty intense and highly-contested race, although the polls are indicating that councilman gray is in the lead, councilman gray said he's not paying attention to that and that is why he's going continue to work and he's going to continue to campaign into the night until the polls close. >> still a very divided city and we will have a decision later tonight. >> thank you. another race, the county executive race in prince georges county. there are five candidates on the ballot vying for that seat.

if you believe the vowel polls, the race is between two. roz plater has the candidates' last-minute push for votes. >> reporter: we're here at evangel cathedral in upper marlboro. there is a trickle of voters coming in and out of the polls and that has been going on all day w. a few hours down, they're stopping for every last vote and it's a crowded field. first up, baker, there is sheriff michael jackson, dell cat levy, sam dean and about businessman -- and businessman henry turner. some have baker and jackson as the front runners and one has them tide. both candidates have gotten rather high-profile endorsements and the others in this race are taking nothing for granted and they, too, are out stomping for every last vote n. this five-way race, every vote could count, the

margins could be slim and as in d.c., there are no republicans in this race and the winner of today's primary is likely the next new face in the county executive's office, the first new face in eight years. the county executive jack johnson is termed out and we're going to monitor the developments here and we'll get back to it when we know more. back to you. >> thank you. our coverage of primary election day continues through the hour. at 5:30, we're taking a closer look at maryland'seracy for governor and what tonight's decision in d.c.'s mayoral race will mean for the district. that is all still ahead. developing right now, $100 million to help the victims. but our investigators -- are investigators closer to figuring out what went wrong? the rate east california's deadly gas -- the latest on california's deadly gas explosion next. new information that landed two pedestrians in the hospital. next. melanie. >> reporter: the treasures of the smithsonian's gem check. how you can get a piece of them

tonight. pretty good out there. a cold front is moving through the area and that is going to change things a bit and first look at the forecast is coming up. laura. all right, thank you very much. keep it here. fox 5 news at 5 is just getting started. n

>> we are following breaking news in the district. police are -- police are on the scene of a metro bus accident. a metro bus and suv collided around 3 this afternoon. and it happened along florida avenue and seventh street in northeast. officials say six people were hurt and their injuries don't appear to be life-threatening. more break news in the district now, one of the two international students hit by a car in adams morgan last week died. the police say the woman behind the wheel was drunk. julia was standing on a traffic island waiting across florida avenue when the car hit her. the woman with her, melissa bosk, remains in critical condition. paul wagner is live with the

story. paul? >> reporter: law enforcement said that she was taken off of life-support after noon today. and since last week, police were calling her condition grave. they were both hit around 8:30 p.m. last wednesday night. the force of the collision knocked both grills to the ground where they each suffered serious head traumca and broken bones. they were sent in hopes of sending their lives. the driver of the car had a blood alcohol content of .18 or more than twice the legal limit. after strike the women, police say adams jumped the curb on florida avenue and slammed into the front of a restaurant causing thousands of dollars in damage. no one was in the restaurant at the time of the collision. police say that adams drove her car southbound on 18th street where she failed to make the left turn on to florida and striking a pedestrian. the police say adams was drinking at a club called district in the hours before

the crash. a place where happy hour drinks are free on wednesdays from 6- 7. law enforcement sources say charges against adams who already faces aggravated assault charges, will likely be increased to involuntary manslaughter as soon as tomorrow. and adams has been released and is under high-intensity supervision. backlighter in was a graduate student from austria attending johns hopkins university in the district. >> such a sad story. thank you. the armored car guard shot outside of a d.c. restaurant yesterday remains in critical condition. the police say they may be looking for two suspects. the shooting happened yesterday outside of the popeye's on malcom x avenue in southeast. witnesses say the gunman walked up to the car and shot the guard in the face. the gunman then took off without any cash. federal investigators have finished collecting evident at the site of the deadly gas pipeline blast and they still don't know what caused the

explosion but they found ageing pipelines underground and meanwhile, pg&e created a $100 million fund to restore the town. the company said that it plans to give residents&an individual check of up to $50,000 per household starting on friday. >> we will not be asking them and won't ask them to sign releases when they accept that. it doesn't prohibit them from filing other claims. >> reporter: a massive explosion killed at least four people and destroyed dozens of homes and four people are still messing tonight. firefighters in colorado continues to battle a wildfire near loveland. the flames have reportedly burned 1,000 aircrafts and have destroyed two homes. investigators say they believe the fire was started by someone burning a brush pile on sunday and forecasters expect more warm and dry weather. and here at home, we had

our share of dry weather and another beautiful day outside. >> gorgeous. any rain on tap? >> at least tomorrow. it's going to be a gem of a day and we have a couple of clouds across the mid-atlantic and mostly across our region and that front moved through. overnight tonight, the dew points are crashing, the air's getting drier and temperatures will cool off as well and tomorrow, that is nice. we'll introduce you to tropical storm karl. we're getting down the list of names, aren't we? coming up. >> thank you. it was the first major battle in our country's bloodiest war and next year, monasses will mark the 150th anniversary of the first battle

of bull run. the american bust association named that the number one tourist attraction for next year and leaders say the celebration will be special. >> we look forward to the many, many people we will have visiting us next year and that is an opportunity for this community to shine and it's also an opportunity for the national park service and monases -- monasses national battle field park to create a meaningful visitor experience and educate the public. about the pivotal part of our nation's history. >> that will take place july 21st and organizers say they planning other events during the year to mark the civil war anniversary. well, it was supposed to be apple's greatest gadget yet. >> tonight, months since the launch, the. >> gee phone 4 can't get the greenlight. and she survived being shot in the face. and a near-total facial transplant. tonight, this amazing woman has an important message for you. we'll be right back. 

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>> fox 5 health alert tonight with bad news for basketball players. a new study finds basketball- related traumatic brain injuries are way up, 70% over a 10-year period. even more alarming, the spike and injury involves which were and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 19. the centers for disease control said not enough women are breast feeding. 75% of women start out breast- feeding after birth and that is according to the cdc of the many give up quickly. at six months, 43% are breast- feeding and 22% nursing at one year and among other things, breast-fed babies are less likely to be obese, at lower risk of diabetes and protects against ear infects and respiratory illnesses. the woman who received a near-total face transplant is urging others to consider about being organ donors. she spoke at the opening of a

clinic in cleveland, ohio. her husband shot her back in 2004, leaving her with unimaginable face and bone injuries. she underwent the near total face transplant and thanks to a donor she knows little about. >> i can't thank them enough, you know. it's incredible how one person can change someone's life drastically. >> reporter: she didn't know if she will need surgery. she is not worried because she's living, which is more than what most people thought possible. >> she's brave and good for her. voters hitting the polls to cast their votes and our coverage of today's primaries far from over. coming up next, a closer look at maryland's gubernatorial faceoff. and what can d.c. residents expect over the next 10 years? and this is about more than the record box, a moral --

mayoral candidate is living under water -- underwater for more than a week. next. 

>> there is a rematch shaping up in politics. martin o'malley versus former republican governor robert ehrlich. tom fitzgerald is live with more. tom? >> reporter: as you know, these two faced off against each other in 2006. this time, though, this race has been tight all summer long. the rasmussen report shows this race at a statistical high while other polls have o'malley ahead 3% and that is in the margin of errors. governor o'malley spent his primary day visiting the polling stations like bethesda elementary school and said this race will give marylanders a

clear choice between his administration and the previous governor and said the tight poll numbers are not a reflection on his administration as much as they are voter frustration over the national economy. >> none of us are happy. i'm angry our economy was run into the ditch, i'm angry wall street bankers took our money and ran it to the ground. i'm angry. our anger is not going to go of our which were a better future, what this conversation needs to be about. >> reporter: for his part, robert ehrlich spent this day with his parents taking them to a polling station in baltimore and he said he, too, will use this time over the next six weeks to highlight differences between his previous administration and the current one. he said although he expects light voter turnout on this primary day, that will not be

the case come november. >> obviously you're going to have double participation and a lot of interest, should say, and given the state of the economy and federal unemployment rate and the issues out there, stimulous, things like that, and i suspect a large turnout in november and a light turnout today. >> the republican primary here has had the effect of pitting the 2008 presidential ticket against itself. sarah palin endorsed brian murphy in this race yesterday and are arizona senator mccain through his support behind ehrlich. meantime, voters in many maryland counties are chooseing candidates for municipal offices. county commissioner and council, state's attorneys, board members, and treasurer sinces are on the ballot in fredericks, saint mary's and other counties. back to the district where

there are several city council spots up for grabs. robe chavez is -- roby chavez is joining us now with a look at the races. >> reporter: voters are decide coming will replace vincent gray as chairman of the d.c. council. one at-large post is up for grabs and races and four wards. one race is the fight for council chair. vincent orange who ran for mayor in 2006 is running against at-large council member kwame brown. the seat with new controversy is about a name. phil mendelson is in a fight for his fourth term and trying to overcome a name confusion by opponent michael d. brown. they think it's a current council member, michael a. brown that is running. today, someone made it clear who the candidate is by defacing signs at polling sites. in the meantime, council member jim graham is seeking a fourth term in ward 1 and has not seen much of a challenge for weaver

or smith and the polls showgm graham with 68% support and raised more money than both of his challenge -- challengers combined. harry thomas jr. faces a host of challengers in ward 5, tommy wells with two in ward 6. republicans, by the way, have candidates in four ward contests and areup opposed in this primary. the four republicans will challenge democrats, however. in the elect. >> will that name confusion you mentioned be enough to unseat mendelson? >> reporter: it's always up to the voters to know who they voting for. in this case, doesn't appear they do. mendelson started take the challenge seriously when the polls finally came out. "the washington post" polls showed the shadowed center, who is white, polling extremely high in areas like ward 7 and 8 where he rarely campaigned and in fact, his numbers mirror the current council member. the man running, michael d. brown has a strong support in anacostia, where he has a 51% of the black democrats say they would vote for brown compared

to 11% for mendelson who usually scores high there and it's a significant threat that we'll be watching tonight. for the record, though, michael brown and jack evans are not up for re-election until 2012. >> one more question, are there people out for brown at the polling places trying to explain this? we saw the defaced signs there. going to try to explain the name confusion? >> reporter: apparently not. michael brown, michael d. brown, who is running in this race, hasn't put his pictures on his post everies and doesn't see the need to even though there is confusion. >> we'll be right back. a

[ male announcer ] it's ram truck season. and the 60-day handshake lives on, that five-finger bond that communicates trust, honor, follow-through, and follow-up. it's a promise that says go ahead and buy a ram 1500 or a heavy duty without a payment for 60 days. and if it doesn't do everything you ask it to do... bring it back. ram. >> back to the local race. the country is watching. of course, the race for mayor of d.c., it's only the primary

and whoever wins will most likely be the next mayor. there is no republican candidate, so it comes down to current mayor fenty and couple chair vincent gray. lenny steinhorn joins us for insight. thanks for joining us. we have been hearing for weeks that fenty is behind in the polls. how do you think this race will play out tonight? >> reporter: well, these polls are generally pretty accurate and -- >> well, these polls are generally accurate and you never been one thing, turnout. the reports suggest there is light turnout. the question is where has it been light? if it's been heavy in the northwest quadrant, then that is the advantage of fenty. if it's heavy in the southeast corridor, that's the advantage to vince gray and this is about turnout, who gets their people out and the polls will probably show that that is going to be a close race coming down to the wire. >> you bring up a good point. there is talk this race may not be decided tonight. you have the same-day registrations that could slow

the final count and what would happen in a case like that? >> that would add more tension. i think our country and people are acla -- acclimated to that after florida in 2000 and the florida presidential race. people want all votes to be counted and everyone's voice to be heard and the larger question, this is a tense and angry race. there is a lot of healing going on, no matter who wins the mayoral election and that is going to be primary on the agenda for fenty or gray, whoever happens to win. >> and we want to get in a little bit about the maryland governor's race. mayor o'malley and bob erlich are facing challengers. you think we'llnd up seeing a rematch of the re-election four year ago? >> i would doubt that bob ehrlich will lose, though you never know what is happening because a tea party of voters lick has somebody who is supported by sarah palin and

going against him. tea matter members vote in high numbers and are highly motivated. she's doing robo calls for ehrlich's opponent. it's likely that bob ehrlich is going to win the primary. this is one where you have to keep an eye on it because you don't know about turnout and don't know who is voting. >> and what is that sudden error error that you're getting? if we get to the point where it's the two facing off again what, do you think? what is the sense you're getting from voters? >> i, people don't see a compile pelling reason to push the current governor out. there is a strong sense of change, and again, in mid-term elects, it's not about the mood of the larger country of everybody&in mark. it's who goes out to vote and who is -- in america, it's who

goes out to vote and most -- they are on the republican side and go out to vote in larger numbers. if that happens, it's going to be a ghter race a few years ago when o'malley won boy by a few percentage votes. this could go to the wire. again, there is no compelling reason for people to say vote o'malley out. the national mood, particularly the energy oat republican side could make it closer and possibly give advantage to geek- - erlick. >> lenny steinhorn, thank you for joining us. we'll see you back here tonight for complete coverage. of course, you can depend on fox 5 for complete coverage. head to www.myfoxdc.com for a breakdown -- head to www.myfoxdc.com for a break down of all the races and information on all the polling areas in your neighborhood. everything you need to cast your vote even this late in the day is a click away. and it's only tuesday. [ laughter ] >> and that gorge outingeous weather has us thinking about the weekend already. >> sure, it does. will the fall-like temperatures hold? gary's on deck with the full forecast in minutes.

and if you're -- for the apple iphone 4, listen up. consumer reports is confusing to give the tech toy a thumbs up. why they not recommending the phone. just ahead. 

>> a consumer alert on those tainted eggs that came from an iowa farm. congressional investigators show wright county egg knew it had problems with salmonella before the summer's outbreak. investigators say the farm had more than 400 positive test results of salmonella between tate tate and this year -- 2008 and this year. they have sickened more than 1500 people. consumer reports still sour on apple's iphone 4. the magazine said the solution to the antenna problem s quote, not acceptable to us. apple is oftenning customers a free case that will fix the problem that causes the phone to lose reception when held a

certain way. the consumer reports wants apple to find a permanent fix fort design fly flaw. the hope diamond, marie antoinettarying -- earrings, some of the jaw-dropping gems on display. the smithsonian natural history museum and fans can own a piece of the jewelry collection. melanie alnwick is here to l us how. >> reporter: this smithsonian partnered with qvc to make limited checks. this is the first name they have worked with an outside retailer like this and it hopes the public loves the amazing gems and will bring in more money for the museum's program. >> reporter: some of the world's most amazing gems are here at the smithsonian institution of natural history. >> the gem hall is one of the most popular places we have. >> reporter: the museum is cashing in on that popularity, partnershipping with qvc to sell a new line of jewelry based on its check. designers poured over -- went

over the treasured pieces with the curator. >> this is a fun opportunity for us to bring some things out of the fault. >> reporter: -- vault. >> reporter: some of the favorites are featured in the september sale. you may not be able to afford this edwardian and pearl ring, but its qvc cousin is $154. other inspiring as are turquoise earrings based on this wedding gift from napoleon to empress marie louise. >> every piece that comes in to us seems to come with a story. >> reporter: like the smithsonian's own blue heart diamond cut 100 years ago. >> had the opportunity to come and meet with jeff and she fell in love with this ring. >> reporter: ripka's recreation, a 12-color blue topaz surrounded by blue diamonds. there is history behind them and things that have something special to set them a part. >> reporter: this was a special piece, a one-of-a-kind. >> reporter: there are 23 pieces in the first sale.

>> and they may never come back to the public. the hope is to move on is come do mire, more exciting jewelry in the future. >> the second is planned for december. >> it's nice to have a connection to the smithsonian institution. >> reporter: at a time when donations are down, it's a chance to bring funding back to the smithsonian's important program. and the bond sale starts at 7:00 p.m. and continues online until sold out. a large portion of the revenue goes into the mineral and gem collection program. that is something fun to see and to get your hands on. >> yes. meanwhile, a florida man is aiming for a world record and you won't be able to see him make the attempt. he is 10 feet below the surface of the lake and plans to stay in the water there for an entire week eating and sleeping underwater. he wants to break the guiness book of world records for the longest scuba dive in freshwater and wants to draw attention to keeping the lakes

clean and that is one way to do it. >> yes. >> and on tv but you could not see it. >> yeah. i am sure people taped it for him. another beautiful day outside. >> good, good, another tomorrow. >> and rolling. >> there is a slight change for rain coming up. we might have a rumble of thunder and a ribbon of cloud cover this afternoon and that probably extends into the evening and pushes to the south. that looks like for the evening hours overnight and tomorrow, things will get better around here. let's show you what the numbers are. the temperatures out there right now, 79 in the city and we have been up to 84 degrees for national and 81 for frederick and to fredericksburg. there is a frontal system pushing on through the area and raleigh, 94 degrees and richmond at 90 degrees and that cooler weather is up to the

north of us and bingham, 61 and this is the air mass that is coming on in and that will be cooler tomorrow and we're going to struggle into the lower 80s. the relative humidity is going to be real, real nice and low and there is crispness in the air to start tomorrow morning and a lot of blue sky and sunshine and this evening is good, too. the mid-70s and lower 70s and upper 60s by later on this evening. this is the ribbon of cloud cover coming in behind this frontal system. no rain in it and that has been a thin layer of clouds. we have had a lot of sunshine coming through there and that has not been too bad. some of that cloud cover may have been coming out from showers and thunderstorms yesterday. again, that is going to stay to the south and here is the frontal system pushing on through and high pressure is coming in overnight tonight and things are very, very nice. this is the newest tropical storm out there and we still have igor and we still have

julia way out in the atlantic and this just formed at 5:00. the hurricane center sent a plane down here and realized the blob of cloudiness that b tropical storm karl, maximum stand winds of 40 miles an hour and this is the closest storm to us and according to the forecast, karl is not going to effect us and not in the short- term. some of the moisture could get pulled up from mexico and caught up in the flow and that will cross across the uia tan into the bay of campeche, a tropical storm again and late in the week, early in the weekend and making landfall, forecast to make landfall in the central sections of the mexican coast here and provide rain in the parts of the state. tomorrow, we're good. loads of sunshine, temperatures up to 82 degrees for a high and you can see in terms of future

cast, we stay good and thursday night, there is rain to the northwest. and yesterday, we were thinking this would bring us a good area of rain coming on through thursday night and friday morning and that is backing off on that and -- and the mountains to the west. we're going to keep it at least a slight chance forshosome showers around here on thursday night and into friday morning. unfortunately, doesn't look like it's much in the way of rain and still dry. wouldn't be a bad think this and just a slight chance. 85 on thursday and warm up and cooling off friday, saturday and the weekend right now, another good one, lower 80 asgood days. >> thank you. and now to the talk of the town on tmz, it's a done deal is. jennifer lopez will be sitting at the "american idol" judge's table for auditions next week. dax holt is live in l.a.

and thank you for joining us, is this a long-term deal? >> it's for a year and she's getting paid $12 million, doing "american idol" for the next year and sounds like a couple extra perks with the job and sounds like someone was trying to sabotage her and one of the employees is liking information to the news media saying she was a diva and that she wanted crazy demands and that is why they were not going to sign her have well and everyone that we know, said that is not the case and it's a matter of doing the contract and it takes some time to do negotiations and that is why that took so long and see how she does. >> she's no stranger, she has been there to perform and help out the contestants. any idea who else might be at that table with her? >> reporter: it's still looking like steven tyler and randy jackson. so, you will see randy come back but steven tyler is the other big one for "american idol" and switching out the

entire cast and make a new season. i don't know if there is going to be a judge or not or something different. >> so no brittany spears and no jessica simpson then, huh? >> that is not what we're hearing. hearing steven tyler, j-lo and randy. >> dax holt with the update on "american idol." thank you so much. we'll see you guys here for tmz on the at 6:30. "american idol" is going to draw that one out as long as possible and keep the momentum going, you know. keep us talking about it, right? let's go to brian bolter now for a look at what he's talking about on the news edge at 6. coming up in six minutes, all eyes on d.c. the voters go to the poll to cast their ballots in a hotly-contested mayor's race. it's not been all smooth sailing. still ahead on the edge, the problems plaguing polling places all over the city. plus. >> everybody loves us a 3-day weekend, right? apparently it depends on who is doing the working during the week. and an american hiker detained in iran for more than

a year comes home. what she said -- why she said her release is bit or sweet. we're back at 6. t

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>> we're used to seeing bps underwater oil spill camera and we're getting a look at another key piece of the puzzle. the failed blowout preventer, this massive piece of equipment sat at the bottom of mexico and they're planning to analyze it hoping to learn why it failed. after a monthlong delay, crews are within 50 feet now of completing the relief well. once that is done, they will seal it with mud and cement. he was inspired by the movie forest gump. a british marine is going across america to help raise money for injured service member. five others are joining damion todd for the run. they made a stop at the british embassy in washington and they plan to run 3500 miles over the

next two months and we wish them well in their journey. >> great, great undertaking. thank you for joining us at 5. >> the news edge at 6 starts right now. >> the countdown begins. the voters have hours left to cast their ballots in several hotly-contested races that will shape the political landscape in the nation's capitol and we're covering separate races, starting with the race for d.c. mayor. fenty trying to fend off a challenge and gray's campaign is asking to keep the polls open late until 8:00 tonight because of problems at several polling places. we have team coverage and wisdom martin has more. we're going to begin with karen gray houston.